People who work in a service industry, like specialty cleaners and professional organisers, know that they are reliant on someone to pick up the phone and call to make a booking. Without that call, and the booking, life in business can be stressful. There are always bills to pay, staff to support, mouths to feed. It’s simple. Bookings = cash flow. Cash flow = certainty and security. Basically, you have to make hay while the sun shines.
But how do you manage bookings and cash flow in a business that seems seasonal? Read on, I have a secret to share. In fact, you can make hay even when the sun’s not shining.
When I first started out as an organiser, there were lean times. There were quiet times. School holidays and winter to name a couple. There were busy times too. Spring was the busiest. In fact, it still is. As soon as the daffodils show their sunny faces, the phone rings a little hotter.
Spring is when many people decide it’s time to declutter and get organised. They’re ready to invite friends for dinner parties, or clear out a bedroom for a guest, or host Christmas lunch, and they need help to make it happen. They’re motivated and there’s a job to be done.
But what about the rest of the year? What about the depths of winter? What about school holidays? What about election times when people hang onto their savings “in case”?
For many people, decluttering may be a yearly ritual or one-time event that puts them on track for a happy homelife. However, there are others with complex needs, physical and mental challenges, who grapple with chronic disorganisation. Theirs is a constant struggle. They need help year-round to declutter, get organised, schedule and execute daily activities of living, and to establish routines and habits that support a healthy and happy homelife.
No matter the season, the political cycle or the school term calendar, people living with chronic disorganisation, including those who hoard need ongoing support all throughout the year.
When you upskill to become equipped and confident to help these complex clients, you are no longer reliant on spring cleaning for cash flow. When you specialise, you create certainty and security for you and your business.
Written by Angela Esnouf
